How To Make Iced Coffee Drinks At Home

April 15, 2017

I love the Starbucks Coconut Mocha Frappuccino’s, and have been spending WAY too much money buying them. I’ve tried to figure out how to make iced coffee drinks at home, but have never found a great recipe, until now! I’m going to tell you how to do it, and how you can mix it up to make a coconut, mocha or regular creamy delicious iced coffee!

To begin, you’ll need these ingredients:

12-cup pot of strong coffee (chilled)

15 oz can Cream of Coconut (I used Coco Lopez, but there are other brands – they can be found in the liquor section of most grocery stores) or… if you don’t want the coconut flavor, you can use a can of sweetened condensed milk. I’ve put three options in the picture for you so you can get an idea of what you’re looking for!

1 1/2 cups of milk (your choice what type you use – we’ve tried it with fat-free half and half, and also the regular half and half – both great, but you can use any kind of milk you prefer)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tbsp. vanilla

Tools you’ll need:

Large pitcher to combine ingredients (this is the one I use as it handles the hot coffee and can be refrigerated – also makes great tea!)

Keep in mind, that iced coffee drinks at home are just that! You’re making these at home so you can adjust the amounts of ingredients to your taste (and save some money!) as I’ve done here. The ingredients and their measurements above are the closest match I’ve found to the Starbucks bottled Coconut Mocha Frappuccino. If you like it less creamy, use less milk/half and half… if you don’t want it so sweet, don’t use the whole can of sweeteners (cream of coconut, condensed milk) or you can omit the sweetener and/or cocoa entirely. Also, you can make your coffee as light or strong as you prefer – so its a win-win!

NOTE: Cream of Coconut is NOT Coconut Milk. Coconut Milk is NOT a substitution for Cream of Coconut, which is a thick, sweet concoction that’s used for making pina coladas!

My first step in making iced coffee drinks at home is to brew 12 cups of strong coffee. I use a tea pitcher to pour the coffee into as I only have a 4-cup pot, so have to make three pots! Once I’ve brewed my 12 cups and have them poured into the tea pitcher I throw it in the fridge overnight to chill. Once chilled, you’ll add the rest of the ingredients into the tea pitcher. You’ll want to get this really blended up, and I use an Immersion (or stick) blender, but you can use a regular blender if you don’t have one of these. If using a regular blender, you’ll want to stir up the mixture as best you can before adding to the blender, as not all will fit and you’ll have to blend in separate batches.

Once your mixture is blended up, put it into your pitcher (makes about a gallon) and keep it in the fridge – should last for several days up to a week! You can pour it over ice or just drink it cold from the fridge.

Special thanks to Colleen Bohrer, who provided me with several recipes for iced coffee drinks at home. You can visit her site, 21st Century Simple Living to see some other great iced coffee recipes.